How to sail a sunfish boat?

Question

sail boat

Answer 1

A sunfish is a good learner boat.Take a day with light wind. Wear a life jacket and go out and try it. Find the direction of the wind, let the sail out, pull it in, and see what happens. Be sure the centerboard is down. Try the rudder, turn it port, turn it staarbord, see what happens.  When you want to change direction, tack, turn into the wind, about 45 degrees. Then fill the sail and see where you go. See how close to the wind you can go and what happens when you go past the point of the wind and stall out. It is a good boat to experiment and learn, hands on. Take a boating safety course to learn the rules of the road. Read a book on sailing during the winter.

Answer 2

well, assuming you know how to launch it, hop inside with the tiller in one hand and the mainsheet in another. when you cast off, have the boat pointed directly into the wind. if you are clear to your left(port side of the boat), pull the tiller close to you, not all the way over, and grab the boom with your other hand, and pull it over to right(starboard). the boat will turn to the left(let go of the boom if you start to tip).

the thing with a sunfish is you have to push the helm the direction opposite of where you want to go. another thing is the boat will turn on the daggerboard, the turning radius isn't like a car.

when you want to go back, push the helm away from you, this is called tacking, and you will cross the bow(front), infront of the wind. hold your helm like that until the boat has switched sides on the wind. you'll have to move your body. In a sunfish, I always sit to windward(closer side to the wind).

I advise you go out with a chase boat incase you flip, and excessive heel can be solved by "dumping" the mainsheet. That means a big ease.

Also, google the Sunfish Class Association, and there are some yahoo groups too. Keep sailing, I still learn stuff everytime I go out, whether its how to get the boat faster or faster crew work ideas.

Oh, and when you get a chance, go out in 20+ knots and waves, a sunfish can really surf if you know what your doing.

Answer 3

goto your local sailing club and buy someone a beer. they will teach you all you need to know.